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Philadelphia School Cheating Probe Widens; More Than 100 Educators Targeted

The Philadelphia Inquirer cites sources with knowledge of the criminal inquiry in reporting the attorney generals involvement, as well as a grand jury to probe a growing scandal that has moved here already ensnared 138 teachers and principals from schools all over the city. Meanwhile, an official with the union that represents Philadelphia school administrators is blaming the alleged cheating that took place at 53 district schools and three city charter schools on high-stakes testing, and ultimatums from higher-ups to browse reach performance plateaus. "Do you know how many of us sat in meetings with our bosses and were told, 'You have to bring your scores up'?" Robert McGrogan, a one-time Philadelphia principal told the Inquirer. "There was no how-to book given to us." On Thursday, The School Reform Commission or the state-run agency that has overseen Philadelphias public schools since Pennsylvania assumed responsibility for the citys school district in 2001 reportedly fired three city principals: Deidre Bennett of Cassidy Elementary, Michelle Burns of Kensington Urban Education Academy and Marla Travis-Curtis of Lamberton Elementary. The attorney generals probe reportedly comes after a state-run analysis of exams taken around Pennsylvania in 2009 uncovered suspicious patterns of erasures. The 53 Philadelphia schools -- about 20 percent of the districts total number of public educational institutions -- come, as the Inquirer wrote, from every part of the city and span every grade level, and include some of the highest-achieving schools in the city. More http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/01/19/philadelphia-school-cheating-probe-widens-more-than-100-educators-targeted/